KALAMAZOO -- The video of a Kalamazoo Public Safety officer shoving a teenager into a wall generated wide-spread interest Wednesday on the Internet.

Web users watched the images thousands of times and hundreds registered their opinions about what they saw.

Reactions varied as some criticized the actions of officer Derek Nugent while many others came to his defense.

"I personally believe this officer stepped over the line of his professional duty," sjvhits wrote on Kalamazoo Town Talk, an online forum at www.mlive.com/kzgazette. "That being said, I also don't think the police get a fair shake (in) most cases. They deal with many idiots day in and day out."

Nearly 600 readers responded to a poll on mlive.com/kzgazette asking their opinion about Nugent's 10-day, unpaid suspension. By early evening Wednesday, 39 percent said Nugent shouldn't have been suspended while 27 percent said he should have been fired.

The video depicts Nugent leading a handcuffed teenager down a hallway toward a booking room at Public Safety's Crosstown Parkway headquarters.

As the two walk, the teen struggles with the officer, who suddenly shoves the 16-year-old into a cinder-block wall. The teen lost three teeth as a result of the incident.

The video has also been posted on Web sites such as AOL.com and CNN.com.

A search on AOL shows that the video has been posted online by television stations across the country, from Hartford, Conn., to Portland, Ore., to Orlando, Fla.

AOL user BlueTaz wrote that the video depicts a "clearly inappropriate reaction from 'trained' law enforcement." BlueTaz added that "if every big mouth is going to get slammed into the wall, then I would suggest the city put a dentist on staff and get ready to pay out some big dollars."

Yamathieu offered an opposing viewpoint on AOL.

"I feel so bad for the officer -- does not deserve the public attention or the suspension. just doing his duty," Yamathieu wrote.

At YouTube, swede42 wrote: "(It) looks like Officer Nugent would be well-served by some education on how to handle problems without resorting to assault.... There is no place for this crap in the justice system."

Another YouTube.com user, jazz4114, wrote of Nugent, "That's the kind of guy I want protecting my city..."